A Little Think

"A New Song" [and who doesn't need one now and then!]

Where do you go for a "tune-up" when the song in your heart is a little off key? Anguish, disappointment, exhaustion take their toll on the soul. I'm always on the lookout for a "tune-up" and have options to make that "song" change keys or quiet down. Nibbling, actually wolfing down, chocolate is nice, Playing piano tunes me up a bit. Taking a walk is good. Exploring life issues with a friend always helps.

But what I really need is to soothe my soul. That's where the "song" lives! Deep, mysterious, abiding and intended to sustain life to its fullest. Enter "A New Song!" Just when we need it, here comes a fresh collection of soul-stirring women's reflections on just about everything. Seven women respond to some of the Psalms out of the Bible's wisdom. Right out of the box it starts with Psalm 1 which I memorized years ago because just reading it soothed my soul. I wanted to be the person it describes. "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not whither. In all that he does, he prospers." Substitute "she" and it's all yours!

Enjoy feeding on the rich insights in this devotional book. This morning over tea I read Ruth Koch on her incessant curiosity, where she got it, where it's led her. She added notes my "song" was missing. Ruth, like the other authors, is authentic to the core! I know them, some better than others. Ruth and I once keynoted the same event, one day apart. Our dorm rooms shared a bath. We never saw each other because I left before she spoke that morning, but I scribbled a hasty note on the mirror asking if it was she in that room. Her late night arrival note responded, "Yes, kind of!"

All of the writers take ordinary days and events and apply spiritual truths to them to lead us away from the off key strident "songs" that drag us down. They have us laughing and saying, "Uhm hmm!" because they are us! And always...the application to take into our day. Rachel Hoyer writes, "How much easier does our job seem knowing that God walks beside us, catching us when we fall, and that He promises He will never forsake us?" Nicole Dreyer muses, "When our feet slip, God's love supports us. When anxiety is great within us, God's consolation brings joy to our souls. The Lord is our fortress and the rock in whom we take refuge." Jane Wilke comments, "We can't close off the world entirely, but through God's Spirit at work within us, we begin to see things in a new light. We test what is happening today against what we know to be the end of the story. It's a story that ends in victory!"

To order "A New Song," and check out the amazing resources from the Concordia Publishing House treasure trove of soul food...go to www.anewsong.cph.org.